Today's Scripture Readings

Saints, Feasts, and Readings for 3/04/2013

Prayer Before Reading Holy Scripture

O Master Who loves mankind, illuminate our hearts with the pure light of Your divine knowledge and open the eyes of our mind to understand the teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments, that we may overcome all carnal desires, entering upon a spiritual life and understanding and acting in all things according to Your holy will. For You are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies, O Christ God, and to You we give glory together with Your eternal Father and Your all-holy, gracious and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Epistle Reading: 1 John 2:18-3:10

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard
that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by
which we know that it is the last hour.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they
had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that
they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all
things.

I have not written to you because you do not know the truth,
but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He
is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.

Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he
who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the
beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also
will abide in the Son and in the Father.

And this is the promise that He has promised us; eternal life.

These things I have written to you concerning those who try
to deceive you.

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in
you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing
teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just
as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears,
we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who
practices righteousness is born of Him.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that
we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us,
because it did not know Him.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been
revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall
be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just
as He is pure.

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is
lawlessness.

And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and
in Him there is no sin.

Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither
seen Him nor known Him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices
righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the
beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might
destroy the works of the devil.

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed
remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are
manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he
who does not love his brother.

Gospel Reading: Mark 11:1-11

Now when they came near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at
the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples;

and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as
soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has
sat. Loose it and bring it.

"And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, '
The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."

So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door
outside on the street, and they loosed it.

And some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you
doing, loosing the colt?"

So they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. And they let
them go.

Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments on
it, and He sat on it.

And many spread their garments on the road, and others cut down
leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

Then those who went before and those who followed cried out,
saying: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the
name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He
had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out
to Bethany with the twelve.

Saints and Feasts

The Holy Apostles of the Seventy Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, and Onesimus; Philothei the Righteous Martyr of Athens; Niketas the Younger

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The Old Calendar readings are from the New King James Version of the Bible.